Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 263, Martial Arts World and Imperial Court

From birth, the Crown Prince served as the heir apparent for nearly sixty years, wielding immense power in the court. Whether in the central government, local areas, the border regions, or the capital garrison, the Crown Prince had his gatekeepers.

Emperor Kangning was worried that the Crown Prince's power was too great and that someone might seize power again, so he had the Crown Prince's entire line of officials killed, implicating countless ministers. The court and the country were shaken and uneasy.

Seeing that further implication would lead to rebellions across the land, Emperor Kangning felt remorse and hastily abdicated the throne to the youngest and least powerful Emperor Longqing in order to stabilize the hearts of the people.

When Jia She saw Emperor Longqing ascend the throne, he knew that with his status, he would never be able to return to the court. So he became despondent and gave up on himself.

The military and political skills they had mastered in previous years were gradually forgotten in the land of mist and willows.

But no one expected that less than twenty years later, a new era would dawn, bringing him an incredible opportunity.

He can't die! He can't die here!
Jia She roared and fled out of the hall with his sword drawn.

Sand Poison Dragon drew his sword and gave chase.

As Jia She ran, he threatened, "This is the Duke's mansion. I am a first-class general of the imperial court, holding the official position of Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. I am a high-ranking official of the third rank. If you kill me, it is tantamount to rebellion. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you will not have peace!"

Sand Dragon ignored them and said, "Enough nonsense, old man, just accept your fate!"

Cheng Dun was extremely generous, giving each of them a thousand taels of silver. After killing Jia She, he also offered an additional five thousand taels. In these chaotic times, with six thousand taels of silver, where couldn't they escape to?

Then, we can eat as much ginseng as we want for practicing martial arts, and we won't have to worry about it anymore!

Jia She took two steps, and another assassin, Shan Ehu, blocked his way, swinging his knife at him.

Jia She had no choice but to draw his sword to fight back.

Dan Ehu's skills were all in his feet, so his swordsmanship was not strong. Jia She dealt with a few blows, then casually picked up a jade ruyi scepter that was placed to the side and threw it at Dan Ehu.

Dan Ehu instinctively swung his sword at Ruyi, but stopped halfway through the cut.

The Ruyi scepter was flawlessly green under the sunlight, making it a top-quality treasure. It would be worth at least tens of thousands of taels of silver in a pawnshop. Dan Ehu usually only made ten or twenty taels of silver per transaction. Now that he saw this precious treasure, he was reluctant to cut it down.

He took the hit head-on, his nose was hit, and his face was covered in blood, but he still smiled. He just put the jade ruyi in his pocket and then jumped over the wall to escape.

Haha, if I get this treasure, I can exchange it for money and take my wife and children to the countryside to become a rich man. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Seeing this, Sha Dulong glanced at Shan Ehu with great envy. Looking around the hall, all that remained were porcelain vases, calligraphy and paintings, and fan paintings, the value of which was unknown. He had no choice but to attack Jia She again.

Jia She had already escaped outside the hall.

Li San shot several swallow-shaped darts.

Jia She rolled on the ground like a gourd, and they all dodged away.

The maids and servants of the Jia family either fled or left. A few loyal and strong men stepped forward, but they were no match for the thief.

Jia She roared, "Quickly go to the storeroom and get the crossbows! Get the crossbows!"

Upon hearing this, the servants rushed to the storeroom, but even after finding the powerful bow and crossbow, they didn't know how to even wind it, let alone draw it.

The Jia family's former personal guards have all grown old and passed away.

Outside, Jia She was fighting with Sha Dulong, barely managing to hold his own for a few moves, when Li San rushed over and slashed at Jia She with his knife.

Jia She was already sweating profusely from dealing with just one of the Sand Poison Dragons, let alone another one.

He rolled backward and fled again.

Before Sha Dulong could react, Jia She escaped. Sha Dulong couldn't help but spit out, "That old man really does have some skill."

The two gave chase.

Taking advantage of the complex terrain of the Jia family mansion, Jia She used a combination of rolling and hiding to implicate the two men.

At first, it had some effect, but as the two became familiar with the terrain, Jia She quickly ran out of tricks. Li San, skilled in light footwork, was the first to catch up and engaged Jia She in battle with his sword.

Jia She exchanged a few blows, then saw Sha Dulong charging towards him with his sword drawn, and was greatly alarmed. However, he was currently being held back by Li San and unable to escape. Seeing Sha Dulong closing in, he could only despairingly cry out, "My life is over!"

At the critical moment, a carrying pole suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Thieves, stop your rampage!"

The carrying pole struck Sand Poison Dragon squarely in the waist, causing him to scream and fall to the ground.

Looking back, I saw a strong old man walking briskly towards me.

"You old bastard, you have no sportsmanship!"

Sand Dragon swallowed the blood in his throat and said.

Jiao Da picked up the carrying pole and said, "You scoundrel, take this first!"

Jiao Da brandished his carrying pole, relying on its thick length, and forced the Sand Poison Dragon to retreat repeatedly.

Seeing that he was no match for Jiao Da's carrying pole with his knife, Sha Dulong simply threw away his knife and used his palms to fight.

Jiao Da laughed and said, "You good-for-nothing! You've lost your weapon and have to kneel down and surrender before you can be spared!"

Sand Dragon roared, "Old man, don't let this old man get cocky! Take this!"

Having said that, he struck out with his palm.

That Sand Poison Dragon practiced hand skills; his palms were thick and large, covered in calluses, so even if he were hit by a carrying pole, he wouldn't get hurt.

He lunged forward, braced himself against the carrying pole twice, then seized the opportunity to grab it and begin to struggle with Jiao Da.

Jiao Da was a veteran who had survived countless battles and crawled out of piles of corpses. His strength was beyond that of ordinary people. However, youth has its advantages. Sha Dulong was in his thirties or forties and was in his prime, while Jiao Da was already old and frail. After a while, Jiao Da was the first to give in and had his carrying pole taken away.

On the other side, Jia She and Li San were engaged in battle.

Although Li San's strength is not as great as Sand Poison Dragon's, his advantage lies in his agility and tricky moves.

Jia She parried a few moves, but his speed couldn't keep up with Li San's. He could only block vital points, and his waist and thighs were slashed several times.

However, as the battle continued, Jia She looked at the masked man before him and the more he looked, the more he seemed to recognize him. He tentatively asked:

"Are you Li San?"

Upon hearing this, Li San was startled and did not reply.

But Jia She became even more convinced of his decision.

Looking at Jiao Da's side, he had already lost his carrying pole and was beaten to the point of vomiting blood by Sha Dulong. Jia She realized that his only chance to turn the tide was to persuade Li San to surrender.

Jia She quickly told Li San what he had found out and advised him:
“I know you were once a hero. If you despise a lowly official position, I will recommend you. Why did you join the bandits and help those corrupt officials to do such a shameful thing? Do you know that if you kill me, millions of people will have no way to seek justice?”

This statement is certainly an exaggeration, but in this urgent situation, Jia She couldn't afford to worry about anything else.

Upon hearing Jia She's words, Li San froze on the spot, and asked in shock:

"Is what you're saying true? Did the imperial court really give me an official position?"

Seeing this, Jia She realized that Li San seemed unaware of the matter, and quickly said:

"Is this for real? I am a third-rank official of the imperial court, why would I lie to you! The King of Wu, grateful for the help you heroes of the martial world have given you all official positions. Yanzi Li San has been appointed as a seventh-rank Jinyiwei squad leader, with a monthly salary of four taels of silver, which is written on the official posting at the main gate of the city! By the way, the King of Wu is the former Duke of Yonghuai!" Fearing that Li San might not know the King of Wu, Jia She made a point of reminding him.

(End of this chapter)